This invention relates to locking devices, particularly of the kind known as lap-top or portable computers anti-theft locks.
Most models of portable computers are equipped by the manufacturers with safety means, usually including a standardized dedicated slot in one of their walls. A variety of locking devices with extension steel cables have been developed for the easy but safe attachment and the disengagement thereof to such slots, based on a T-shaped spindle and tumbler design--see for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,752 (To Myers et al.)
These however suffered numerous disadvantages, among others, the need for a separate key, or memorizing a combination code; need for ancillary parts, in the absence of an existing slot; non-rotatability of the cable (which causes a nuisance to the user); or complicated and expensive structures.
The invention aims to overcome many of the deficiencies of the conventional arrangements, and to provide a unified and compact locking arrangement equally applicable to both slotted and non-slotted structures.